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Feds to take-down Xtra, imprison Reynolds?

On the face of it, the Kim Dotcom and MegaUpload case is pretty simple: the guy created a service which enabled others to break the law by unlawfully exchanging files which contained material which was protected by copyright.

While I'm sure the prosecution will argue this perspective heavily, things are not necessarily that cut and dried and the flow-on effects of this prosecution should be ringing alarm bells everywhere.

For a start, these file-locker services are not necessarily used solely for illegal purposes and the US government's heavy-handed actions have left a huge number of innocent users in the lurch.

Imagine you want to transfer a large data or video file from your own computer to one on the other side of the world -- how do you do it?

If the file is more than a few MB then it's unlikely you'll be able to use email.

If neither party has their own website then setting up an FTP server is also not a viable option.

This is where these file-locker sites become invaluable. Party A simply uploads the file to the file-locker and party B downloads it to their computer. Quick, simple and, providing the data isn't subject to someone else's copyright, 100 percent legal.

The problem now is that the move against MegaUpload has had such a chilling effect that it's now very hard to find a file-locker which will be willing to deliver such a service -- allowing different parties to exchange files.

The analogy I draw in this case is that police ought to swoop on the makers of DVDR/RW drives and media because these devices are widely used to make illegal copies of copyrighted works -- even though they do have a legitimate legal purpose as well.

In fact I'd argue that the amount of revenue lost to piracy by the MPAA as a result of the illegal burning of movies to writable DVD media far exceeds that which was lost through the actions of some MegaUpload users.

Then there is the way NZ police have responded to the FBI's requests.

The first thing we should remember is that right now, Kim Dotcom is legally considered to be an innocent man. The basic premise of our legal system is that all defendants are considered innocent until proven otherwise.

Despite this, he is incarcerated and looks set to remain that way for quite some time.

A huge swathe of his assets have also been seized -- again from a man who ought to be considered innocent until proven otherwise.

Now I have little sympathy for Kim Dotcom. He can argue all he wants that he's innocent of the charges leveled at him but anyone with the slightest bit of understanding of how MegaUpload works will have great difficulty believing that he was unaware of the levels of piracy taking place.

However, the same can certainly be said for those who manufacture CDR/DVDR drives and media -- yet they're not hauled off to prison are they?

Will Paul Reynolds find his car towed, his bank accounts frozen and a swathe of armed police breaking down the door of his safe-room early one morning? After all, I think it's fair to say that the majority of online piracy in this country will have been conducted over the Xtra internet service -- and Paul knows this is the case.

Of course it could be argued that Telecom have no ability to stop this piracy and that the Net (like firearms, cars, etc) also has a genuine legal use. To shut down Xtra just because it is used by *some* for illegal purposes (I suspect a *huge* percentage of the traffic constitutes illegal material) would be silly.

Now go back to what I wrote at the start of this column. File-locker services do have a very valuable legal use (just like Xtra's service). Why do we allow a foreign nation to sequester our own police and courts to "hit" Dotcom while those selling CDR/DVDR drives/media and those who provide the conduit for most of this country's this online piracy seemingly continue with impunity?

As I said -- the Dotcom case raises some very worrying issues and reinforces the belief that this case is more about politics than crime.

How's that Free Trade Agreement going John. When do we stop acting like a lap-dog in the vain hope of getting a few scraps from Obama's table?

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